Assets Transfer
It was the policy of the Fianna Fáil/Green coalition government to transfer the transmission assets from ESB to EirGrid in line with the EU energy policy. Assets transfer was also part of the Programme for Government of the current Fine Gael/Labour coalition and was included in the McCarthy report as a recommended action.
However, having considered expert reports and the current economic climate, the government has now made a decision to retain the transmission assets in the ownership of ESB. The following is an extract from a Government statement dated 27 July 2011:
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Mr Pat Rabbitte TD, today announced that in the context of the EU Third Energy Package the Government has decided that the ownership of the electricity transmission assets is to remain with ESB while the operation and development of the transmission system will continue to be the responsibility of EirGrid.The Government decision follows a process of consideration over the past eighteen months, including a report carried out by Frontier Economics Limited, under the independent chairmanship of Mr Fergus Cahill. The decision also takes account of the current financial and economic climate.
There will now follow, in light of the Government Decision, a process of certification under Article 9 (9) of the EU Directive to demonstrate the compliance with the Directive of the existing arrangements for electricity transmission in Ireland. The certification process, which will take a number of months, is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation and the European Commission.